OAKLAND — UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland has received a $15 million gift from Lynne and Marc Benioff to address a shortage of mental health services for children and adolescents in Oakland and the East Bay.
The $15 million gift, announced Tuesday by UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals, is intended to enable the Oakland hospital to increase its mental health services, heighten awareness and encourage philanthropy.
“There’s nothing more important than the health and well-being of our children,” said Lynne Benioff in a statement. “Marc and I hope that this gift will raise awareness of the mental health crisis facing children here in our community and that others will join us in supporting the hospital’s mental health mission.”
The funds will be put to immediate use by hiring more mental health providers, which will allow an additional 5,000 psychiatric visits per year, according to a statement by UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals. It also will allow for new early intervention approaches, including an access portal to support training of primary care physicians in the community, as well as a patient referral process so that children get the care they need sooner.
“Children are suffering from an extraordinary amount of stress and mental illness, and we must rise to the challenge of meeting this need in what is truly a public health crisis,” said Dr. Michael Anderson, president of UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals, which has campuses in Oakland and San Francisco.
“Cities across the nation are facing a tremendous need for mental health care for our children and teens. This is an issue that cuts across all races, all cultures and all socioeconomic levels,” said Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf in a statement. “This generous gift from Marc and Lynne Benioff is a key step in enabling our beloved UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital here in Oakland to care for all of our children, not only in Oakland but throughout the East Bay.”
The Benioffs have donated more than $200 million to support the Children’s Hospitals in San Francisco and Oakland, and $50 million to launch the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals Preterm Birth Initiative, in partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, according to the UCSF statement.